Publications (55) View all
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Article: Changes in metabolic profiles after the Great East Japan Earthquake: a retrospective observational study.
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ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: A magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off eastern Japan in March 2011. Many survivors have been living in temporary houses provided by the local government since they lost their houses as a result of the great tsunami (tsunami group) or the expected high-dose radiation resulting from the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (radiation group). The tsunami was more than 9 m high in Soma, Fukushima, which is located 30 km north of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and adjacent to the mandatory evacuation area. A health screening program was held for the evacuees in Soma in September 2011. The aim of this study was to compare the metabolic profiles of the evacuees before and after the disaster. We hypothesized that the evacuees would experience deteriorated metabolic status based on previous reports of natural disasters. METHODS: Data on 200 subjects who attended a health screening program in September or October of 2010 (pre-quake) and 2011 (post-quake) were retrospectively reviewed and included in this study. Pre-quake and post-quake results of physical examinations and laboratory tests were compared in the tsunami and radiation groups. A multivariate regression model was used to determine pre-quake predictive factors for elevation of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in the tsunami group. RESULTS: Significantly higher values of body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, and HbA1c and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were found at the post-quake screening when compared with the pre-quake levels (p = 0.004, p = 0.03, p = 0.008, p < 0.001, and p = 0.03, respectively). A significantly higher proportion of subjects in the tsunami group with high HbA1c, defined as >=5.7%, was observed after the quake (34.3%) than before the quake (14.8%) (p < 0.001). Regional factors, periodic clinic visits, and waist circumference before the quake were identified as predictive factors on multivariate analysis for the deterioration of HbA1c. CONCLUSIONS: Post-quake metabolic variables were impaired compared with pre-quake baseline levels in survivors who were living in temporary houses. A natural disaster could affect metabolic profiles, and careful follow-up for survivors should be planned.BMC Public Health 03/2013; 13(1):267. · 2.00 Impact Factor -
Article: Cancer Articles in Weekly Magazines: Useful Media to Deliver Cancer Information to the Public?
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ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE: Japanese weekly magazines, which have a circulation of over 2 700 000, play important roles in communicating with the public. They offer a wide range of information, entertainment, gossip, politics and economics, and often include articles on cancer. However, cancer articles in magazines have not been systematically analyzed. METHODS: We investigated cancer-related articles and advertisements in six major Japanese weekly magazines to demonstrate trends in public interest regarding cancer. RESULTS: The total number of articles assessed from July 2009 to December 2010 was 36 914, of which 696 (1.9%) were cancer articles. The total number of advertisements was 21 718, of which 340 (1.6%) were related to cancer. The number of cancer articles demonstrated an upward trend during the study period. Articles focused on lung (n = 145) and urogenital cancer (n = 122). The most common content comprised therapies and diagnosis (n = 340) and case reports on individual patients (n = 160). After a famous Japanese comedian revealed his prostate cancer diagnosis, the number of articles on prostate cancer increased from 2.0 to 6.6 per month. Immunotherapy including some dubious folk therapies was the most frequently reported cancer therapy in articles and advertisements (30.4%). A small group of oncologists were repeatedly referred to in comment sources; 35.6% of comments were presented by only five doctors. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer articles in weekly magazines are common paper media for providing cancer information to the public. However, the information provided might place emphasis on unestablished treatments or biased opinions.Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology 01/2013; · 1.78 Impact Factor -
Article: Autoimmune Chronic Pancreatitis with IgG4-Related Pancreatic Pseudocyst in a Patient Undergoing Total Pancreatectomy Followed by Autologous Islet Transplantation: A Case Report.
Pancreas 01/2013; 42(1):175-177. · 2.39 Impact Factor -
Article: Elevation of High-Mobility Group Box 1 after Clinical Autologous Islet Transplantation and Its Inverse Correlation with Outcomes.
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ABSTRACT: A major problem after clinical autologous islet transplantation (AIT) is the difficulty in achieving insulin independence. To follow up on our demonstration in a murine model that high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) was released from islets and involved in early loss of transplanted islets, we tested the role of HMGB1 in clinical AIT. Serum HMGB1 levels from 15 AIT patients were significantly elevated during islet infusion (7.6 ± 1.2 ng/mL) and 24 hours after infusion (8.0 ± 1.4 ng/mL) compared to admission levels (2.4 ± 0.6 ng/mL). The first elevation of HMGB1 was associated with islet damage, but the later elevation was not. The change in the HMGB1 level from admission to first peak (ΔHMGB1) was significantly higher in the AIT group (8.1 ± 1.1 ng/mL) than in the pancreatectomy-only control (2.2 ± 0.5 ng/mL) (p<0.05). Circulating serum levels of soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) were also elevated during islet infusion. In vitro studies demonstrated damaged human islets released HMGB1 but not sRAGE. In terms of outcomes, the insulin free group showed significantly lower ΔHMGB1 (5.2 ± 0.6 ng/mL) and higher ΔsRAGE (2.3 ± 0.6 ng/mL) than the insulin-dependent group (10.6 ± 1.9 ng/mL and 0.7 ± 0.2 ng/mL. respectively). The ΔHMGB1 correlated with the number of white blood cell, IP-10, EGF and Eotaxin. In conclusion, serum HMGB1 was elevated in AIT, and could be associated with inflammatory reactions that deteriorate islet engraftment. Therefore, anti-HMGB1 therapy might be a candidate for further improving the outcomes of clinical AIT.Cell Transplantation 12/2012; · 5.13 Impact Factor -
Article: An effective purification method using large bottles for human pancreatic islet isolation.
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ABSTRACT: The purification process is one of the most difficult procedures in pancreatic islet isolation. It was demonstrated that the standard purification method using a COBE 2991 cell processor with Ficoll density gradient solution harmed islets mechanically by high shear force. We reported that purification using large bottles with a lower viscosity gradient solution could improve the efficacy of porcine islet purification. In this study, we examined whether the new bottle purification method could improve the purification of human islets. Nine human pancreata from brain-dead donors were used. After pancreas digestion, the digested tissue was divided into three groups. Each group was purified by continuous density gradient using ET-Kyoto and iodixanol gradient solution with either the standard COBE method (COBE group) or the top loading (top group) or bottom loading (bottom group) bottle purification methods. Islet yield, purity, recovery rate after purification, and in vitro and in vivo viability were compared. Islet yield per pancreas weight (IE/g) and the recovery rate in the top group were significantly higher than in the COBE and bottom groups. Furthermore, the average size of purified islets in the top group was significantly larger than in the COBE group, which indicated that the bottle method could reduce the shear force to the islets. In vivo viability was also significantly higher in the top group compared with the COBE group. In conclusion, the top-loading bottle method could improve the quality and quantity of human islets after purification.Islets 11/2012; 4(6).
